Five charged for water theft in St Elizabeth
FIVE people have been charged for illegally taking water and trespassing on the works of the National Water Commission (NWC). The five accused, charged under Section Three of the Public Utilities Act and Section 25 of the NWC Act, are to appear before the Santa Cruz court in St Elizabeth and the Porus court in Manchester on December 4 and 16, 2019 and January 4, 2020, the NWC said yesterday.
According to the NWC, the operation in which the accused were held became necessary after it was discovered that people were illegally tapping into the commission’s distribution network.
The operation, the NWC noted, comes just weeks after the official commissioning of the $630-million Essex Valley water supply scheme which serves the area. NWC regional manager Jermaine Jackson denounced the persistent practice of water theft.
“We have had several meetings in the area and have set up mobile offices to make it easier for residents to sign up for the service. We have even reduced the installation cost but some persons insist on stealing the water,” Jackson said.
“We are encouraging persons to sign up and obtain a legal connection and desist from tampering with our systems. We will continue to prosecute persons found stealing water,” said NWC receivables manager Raymond Nesbeth.